"But I still was not taking my faith seriously enough. Then an eight-year struggle with back disease and constant pain brought me for healing prayer to a small charismatic community. There I got to know spiritually committed Christians for the first time.

I decided to learn more about this life in the Spirit they talked about, and as a result, I made a firm commitment to turn away from sin. Soon after that, I was prayed 'over, and my back was totally healed.

But far more significant than the physical healing, genuine repentance and the sacrament of reconciliation had a great cathartic effect, lifting the sense of guilt and despair from my spirit.

Recognizing that we are eternal beings and that the earthly portion of our eternal existence is infinitesimal was an important breakthrough for me. Equally important, I now discovered the spiritual component in disease."

It changed his practice of medicine:

"Early in my newfound approach to cancer management, God showed me the importance of prayer in conjunction with the standard forms of treatment. When I prayed over the dying mother of an Italian family, both she and her family received dramatic spiritual healing.

This incident encouraged me to be bolder in praying for others. I began to do so even while operating and had some dramatic results.

This power is available to all who wish to plug into the Source: an all-loving God."

"My primary objective now in all my patient contact is to help people save their souls and to bring them closer to God."